CH.41 12-1. Out of the Magic Hat Came a White Rabbit.
“Ahaha! Royal jelly from the Armored Queen Bee! Well done, Licht’s team!”
A man with blond hair and a face full of scars laughed heartily as he looked at me. It was Drake the Dragonslayer.
“Such materials can only be obtained when you do more than just kill the monster! The faculty has been watching closely!”
“That’s true. If the boss monster dies too quickly, harvesting its rare parts becomes difficult.”
“…Licht, you knew that, didn’t you?”
Drake chuckled as he evaluated the spoils our team had acquired.
“Isn’t swordsmanship the best, Licht?!”
His gaze was unnervingly intense. Did he figure out that I’d joined the magic club? I felt a cold sweat trickle down inside my helmet.
“Well then… since it’s almost evening, let’s announce the results! Dennis, are you ready?”
“Yes, Drake.”
Before the words even finished, Dennis summoned a holographic magic circle and displayed a translucent ranking board—something we’d seen during practice sessions.
[1st Place: Licht’s Team]
[2nd Place: …]
Our team was boldly listed at the very top. As the leader, I suppose it was natural, but I still glanced at the others to gauge their reactions.
The red-haired elf broke into a wide grin, throwing her hands up in triumph.
“Kai, Helmet, Mardol! We did it!”
“We must’ve taken down dozens of monsters. Even just estimating by eye, it’s a lot.”
“…We won.”
The blond hero, Kainel, spoke as if it was only expected, while the glass knight, Mardol, clenched his fist with quiet satisfaction.
“Honestly, without the royal jelly, you would’ve scored around second or third, Licht.”
“Is that so…”
“Life isn’t about doing everything yourself. Teamwork is just as important.”
I’d guessed as much. Group assignments are group assignments, after all—team coordination matters most. Dennis spoke up, his blue hair swaying as he addressed me.
“…So, have you reconsidered graduate school, Licht?”
“No, Professor.”
“That’s a shame… It’s rare for an undergraduate to understand the properties of an Armored Queen Bee.”
Between sword training with Drake, the possibility of being imprisoned in the imperial underground if I crossed Mardol, and the notion of getting stuck in a research lab, graduate school was the least appealing of all options.
“You utilized the bees’ traits, made excellent use of your team’s abilities, and even protected your teammates in the end.”
“That’s true, Licht.”
Did I really do all that? Come to think of it, I had deflected a stinger aimed at Mardol near the end. My glass helmet rattled slightly as I nodded at Dennis’s evaluation.
“Therefore, the faculty has decided to award full marks to Licht’s team. Any questions?”
“No, Professor Dennis.”
“Good. With the sun about to set, let’s return to the academy.”
He gave me a satisfied smile, patting my shoulder. Moments like this made me nostalgic for the original story.
‘In the original, he and I were close.’
The protagonist of Knight Heart, a human man who loved a cursed dragon.
The story explicitly described him as a non-mage human man for a reason.
“Well then, it seems everyone has gained valuable experience today. Let’s head back to Grand Hearts Academy for some rest. Tomorrow’s classes are canceled, so make sure to recover well.”
Dennis offered words of encouragement with a cheerful grin, addressing the students.
“Hurray!”
“Thank you, Professor!”
Even back in the original story, Dennis was renowned for his kind nature, similar to Kainel.
“Reflect on today’s events and grow from them. Great job, everyone.”
In the original work, Dennis was described as a striking figure with radiant white eyes. Like me, he was also said to have been transported from the real world.
‘…So that’s why he wasn’t a mage. His original occupation wasn’t related to magic.’
However, revealing that I was also a transmigrant was too risky. His fictional world differed from mine.
‘To save him, I’d need to defeat the Demon Lord of Omniscience. That’s how the original story reached its happy ending.’
Dennis had been nicknamed “the drunkard,” a tragic man who, in the bad ending, longed for his lover associated with magnolias and died in despair.
Watching him drink earlier filled me with complex emotions.
“Well, let’s get moving.”
While I was lost in thought, a large magic circle began to spin as Dennis activated teleportation.
***
As Dennis cast his teleportation spell, the white-haired woman in the magician’s hat wandered an empty lecture hall.
“Hmm, is this it?”
She inspected the lingering traces of magic in the air, noticing remnants of overlapping teleportation circles.
“So, teleportation magic was used this way… Looks like water magic—was it Dennis?”
Muttering to herself, the magician with golden eyes contemplated how to reach the location of the Hero.
“Oh, I’ve got it!”
With a clap of her hands, she summoned a red revolver in her palm. Her crescent moon eyes sparkled with excitement.
“If it’s the Holy Sword used by the Demon Lord of Omniscience, reverse-engineering its circuits should be easy enough.”
─Bang!
She fired the revolver precisely at the podium where Dennis had cast the teleportation spell. Multiple interlocking magic rings began to manifest, forming an elaborate, glowing magic circle.
“Perfect! Just as I planned. Or… was this not part of it?”
Leaping in delight like a child, the white-haired magician approached the intricate magical structure, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“If I tinker with this, I should be able to cross to the other side.”
Her proximity to the Demon Lord’s territory grew closer.
“It’s been so long since I’ve met a Hero. As their senior, I should give them a proper education!”
Grinning broadly, she barely contained her laughter as her hand reached out to the complex magic circle.
As her fingers made contact, the circle responded with a brilliant white light.
***
The scene shifted suddenly, as if the stage itself had transformed.
“Then, my comrades… No, students. This concludes the group assignment.”
The sudden change of scenery made it feel as though the forest from moments ago had been a dream. I was now back in the lecture hall where we’d started the day.
The utility of dimensional magic circles was astounding. Seeing Dennis employ the ultimate skill I had introduced in such an effective way brought a strange sense of pride.
‘In the original story, mixing magic circles allowed for limitless possibilities like this.’
Other students were already packing up and leaving the lecture hall. Soon, only Dennis and I remained in the now-empty classroom.
But something felt off.
I glanced around multiple times, but neither Kainel, Ariel, nor Mardol were anywhere to be seen. Did Dennis mess up the teleportation spell? Concerned, I decided to speak up.
“Uh… Professor Dennis?”
“Yes, Licht? Is something the matter?”